


Tour Bus Ride Into Detroit

by Greenfrogger



Series: Greefrogger's Brad and Ryan stories [2]
Category: Whose Line Is It Anyway? RPF
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:53:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9302963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenfrogger/pseuds/Greenfrogger
Summary: Brad is in the hospital because not only does he have the flu, but a sinus infection as well.  It's implied that there's a relationship between Brad and Ryan but this short, not quite 600 word story is the conversation between Ryan and Colin and how Brad and Colin got from being on a tour bus to a 3rd floor hospital room in Detroit.April 27, 2017: I decided to add on so the above summary is for chapter 1 only.June 10, 2017: Finally ended the story - it now is marked with major character death because of the end - but we all have to die some time.





	1. Brad Gets Sick

Ryan watched Brad sleeping peacefully after several nights of confusion about who Ryan and Colin were; where he was at; why was he laying in bed; or who even he was. He was suppose to be somewhere in the Midwest with Colin performing their two-man show but currently was on the third floor of a Detroit area hospital battling the flu and sinus infection, which included high fever, dehydration, and being delirious. Because of this, Colin immediately called Ryan who was on the next flight out from Seattle to Detroit.

Two weeks of shows had been cancelled and now Colin and Ryan were debating calling two more weeks to give Brad time to physically recover. They hated to disappoint fans but Brad’s well-being was more important. 

“How’s our patient?” Colin quietly snuck in the room and whispered to Ryan.

“I think the worse is over. I kiss his forehead and it hasn’t felt warm and he’s not sweating through the blankets.”

“Thank goodness. Has he said anything to you that has made sense?”

“No, but then he hasn’t been really awake since early this morning.”

“When he first started hallucinating he was so scared; didn’t know what was going on; didn’t know me or himself. He just wanted his mom and even then he didn’t quite know who she was. I never was so thankful we have wi-fi on the bus. I put funny animal videos for him to watch. It kept him calm until we rolled into Detroit and got him the proper medical care.”

“I’m just thankful that he should be okay.”

“Ryan, it was like an on/off switch. That morning he told me he was going to lay down because he wasn’t feeling well; got sick three times within an hour and slept for three hours. When he awoke he had no idea what was going on and freaked out. I tried to keep him calm by putting something funny on that wouldn’t spook him.”

“They said he did have a sinus infection along with the flu and that’s what they attribute to the whole entire confused episode. But still, that had to be an interesting bus ride.”

The men were interrupted by Brad waking up; confused, but more by where in the world he was.

“Hey,” Ryan said softly and calmly, standing up to get closer to Brad. Ryan walked to Brad’s right side, while Colin stayed on his left. Ryan gently pushed his face towards him to try and get his full attention. “You’re okay. You’re in the hospital right now in Detroit. You have the flu and a sinus infection. You following me, Brad?” 

Brad looked stoned and really confused but squeezed Ryan’s hand and he interpreted that Brad understood.

You scared everyone because you awoke from a nap and had no idea who anyone was or even yourself. Do you remember Colin putting on funny animal videos to keep you calm?”

Brad looked over at Colin, and shook his head no.

“It’s okay, Brad,” Colin softly spoke. “You know who I am now, right?”

Brad mouthed “Colin” because it was too much energy to talk, even whisper.

“That’s right, bud,” Colin said and rubbed his hand over Brad’s forehead to get strands of sweat soaked hair out of his eyes.

Brad shifted his attention back to Ryan. He recognized Ryan, but still was so strung out that he was confused about everything else. All he knew that as long as Ryan and Colin were here, everything would be okay.


	2. Plane Ride Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story just felt incomplete so I continued it.

Ryan could see the sadness in is eyes and didn’t know how to lift his spirits. The doctor had warned that sometimes the medication messes with a person emotional state, especially people who wear the emotions on their sleeves like Brad. Probably wasn’t anything Ryan could do at the moment to make him feel better. Just something they would have to ride out. 

About 5:30 in the morning, Brad was released and the three of them were taken from the hospital to Detroit Metro Airport. Fortunately, the main terminal where the commercial flights flew out of was far away from the private terminal for charter flights so at least they didn’t need to deal with fans. Thank goodness they didn’t run into any with the way Brad was feeling this morning.

While waiting to board their charter flight, Ryan watched Brad. He could see Brad trying to focus on something, whether it was the various flight information or a magazine, but nothing could hold his attention. Then announcements would blast through the speakers and echo throughout the building, which hurt Brad’s ears. 

Yep, this was going to be a long flight. 

Ryan wasn’t keen on flying, everyone knew that but he knew that he had to be strong for Brad. Ryan had hoped the doctor would have been able to prescribed something to calm Brad but the doctor indicated that the side effects could have caused an adverse affect. 

At least Colin was coming along to help Ryan out with Brad. Both could tell how much Brad was trying to keep it together in the terminal, but knew that once he got home, something that was familiar to him, that he would be okay. Colin at least was smart to steal a blanket from the hospital that Brad tended to cling to when scared.

When Dan called about the flight, he explained to Ryan that they would be sharing it with others who where engineers from one of the Big 3 auto companies. They happened to be on their way from Detroit to the Seattle International Car Show.

Obviously, there were some had recognized who they were, and Colin struck up a conversation with a gentleman who had tickets to one of the Detroit shows. Colin provided a condense version of why the show was cancelled and apologized ahead of time for Brad’s behavior which Colin called “whiney”

Ryan and Colin, along with Brad were able to board first, so they could get Brad settled without an audience. Fortunately their seats were in the last row and Ryan and Colin worked as a team to get Brad situated. Once Brad realized he was seat belted in, he cried to Ryan, “Don’t lock me in,” with tears pouring down his face. It was obvious that at this moment Brad was totally and utterly confused 

Ryan didn’t mean to mean to the stewardess but when she started to make her way towards the three of them, he sternly stated, “The quicker we get this bird in the air, the quicker I can get him calm down.” The stewardess promptly left.

Colin took the opportunity to quickly get the blanket out that he took from the hospital, while Ryan worked his magic to bring Brad back to reality.

“Hey,” Ryan said, looking at him, tucking hair behind his ears, “As soon as the plane is in the air, we can take the seatbelt off, okay? We’ve got to keep it on for right now. I know your trapped between hell and reality but you’re going to be okay. Would you feel better if we put a blanket over you, so you can hide away from the bad man? I promise it will keep you hidden.”

Brad nodded yes.

“Okay,” Ryan spoke softly. “Colin is going to put it over you right now.” Colin did quickly and Brad was somehow able to twist his body over Ryan’s legs and hang on for dear life.

A few minutes later the plane’s engines roared to life, scaring the shit out of Brad who hugged Ryan’s legs tighter, and he kept saying, “I’m scared Ryan, I’m scared.”

Ryan was at a lost of how to make him feel better. Colin could see the tears in Ryan’s eyes. Shit, he had tears in his eyes because it just wasn’t fair for Brad to be in pain and so lost in fear. Colin lifted the blanket so Ryan could get under it. Ryan duck his head in, laying it on Brad’s back. He bear hugged Brad as tight as he could, giving him light kisses on where his skin poked through between his shirt and hair line, just so he knew that Ryan was right there with him.

Finally the plane taxied the runway.

“Okay, buddy, the plane is moving, we’re going to be up in skies in the minute. The moment we can take the seat belts off we will,” Ryan said to Brad. They stayed that way through take off and until the plane leveled off. Once it was announced that it was safe to take off the seatbelt, Ryan sat up and helped Colin with getting Brad’s belt off. Ryan prepared himself for Brad’s sudden movement but it didn’t come. Ryan looked down at his lap and noticed Brad had fallen asleep.

Unfortunately, peace didn’t last long. Within a few minutes Brad trashed in his sleep and startled himself awake.

“You’re okay Brad,” Ryan calmly told him. “I’m right here, so is Colin.” Brad took another moment to look at them and as soon as it clicked who he was with, he stretched out his arms to Ryan’s shoulders. Ryan realized Brad was beginning to hyperventilate, trying in vain to stop it. Brad cried so hard that he made himself throw up, fortunately Colin saw this coming and was able to get him to do it in the bag. After throwing up, he bared hugged Ryan, who spoke quite comforting words to him, rubbing his back in a rhythmic pattern. Something Brad could concentrate on. Finally, 30 minutes later, Brad dozed off, allowing Ryan to get some rest. 

The rest of flight went off without a hitch and Ryan and Colin managed to keep Brad asleep while they buckled him in for the landing, waking him up after everyone was off the plane.

Once the plane landed, Colin called Greg to start heading to the airport. Colin explained to Greg that Brad wasn’t himself and don’t hold anything against him. “He barley knows who he is,” Colin said.

Bellingham International Airport staff knew Ryan and he was able to allowed them to leave through an employee’s entrance, to avoid the attention of fans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for abrupt end of the chapter, but it was the best spot for the break. Chapter 3 is started and should be up soon.


	3. Brad, Meet Greg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The car ride home from the airport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small filler chapter. Hoping the next chapter should wrap the story up.

Brad was utterly confused once he awoke, but he knew who Ryan was. Ryan explained that they had landed in Bellingham and that they were about 30 minutes from home. Ryan and Colin had hoped that sooner, than later, Brad would get his bearings.

Ryan was thankful that they hadn’t run into any fans exiting the airport, meeting Greg to drive them home. Ryan could see that Brad was hesitant but letting go of Ryan’s hand to allow Ryan to put the suitcases in the back of the car. Colin and Greg realized what was going on and told both of them to get in the car, that they would take care of it.

Brad spoke, “You trust him?” pointing at Greg, which caught everyone off guard. Ryan managed to keep a smile off his face and introduced Brad to Greg.

“Brad, meet Greg. An all around funny and smart guy who’s helping me today by picking us up.”

“You’ve worked with him before?” Brad asked so sincerely.

Greg was shocked. He and Brad had known each other for over 20 years; he wondered how the man could simply forget who he was. Colin interrupted his thoughts, “Try not to be shocked by Brad. He’ll remember you eventually, it’s happened to both Ryan and I the first nights at the hospital. The more you interact with him, the more his brain will catch on.”

Ryan had gotten Brad in the car and settled while Colin and Greg had their discussion. Ryan put the blanket over Brad which had such a soothing effect that Brad went back to sleep taking Ryan with him. Leaving Greg and Colin in the front seat to talk.

“Shit, Colin, should Brad been released from the hospital? He looks like skin and bones almost, how much weight has he lost, 25 pounds?” Greg commented while trying to get out of the airport parking lot and head for Ryan’s house.

“Try 35 pounds,” Greg looked shocked. “Yeah tell me about it. He’s been super emotional today. He kept having panic attacks, which has sent Ryan into a tizy. While waiting for our flight, every time there was an announcement it made him jump. Before take-off when the engines kick over - he was so spooked he was bear hugging Ryan’s legs telling Ryan how scared he was. Ryan bear hugged him back and was crying right along side him because there was nothing either one of us could do to make him not afraid. He slept for about 20 minutes when the flight began, woke up and couldn’t identify Ryan right away. Once he realized who Ryan was he was so relieved that he cried so hard that he threw-up. Fortunately he slept through the rest of the flight, letting Ryan get some rest as well. Ryan woke him up gently after we had landed and was ready to get off the plane and he knew who we were, thank goodness.”

“The doctors discharged him, knowing that home was on the other side of the country?” Greg asked.

“Yeah they did. Ryan felt and the doctor agreed that he would be more lucid, you know in the moment, at home than across the country. Brad had been doing well, knowing what was going on for the most part, for the last couple of days. There really wasn’t any medical reason to keep in the hospital. Everything is under control, the only thing he needs to do is just take his medication and rest. Most important is try to keep him free of stress.”

Colin paused, remembering the first few nights, how scared he and Ryan were about Brad and if he was going to survive ordeal. “I know Ryan is exhausted as well, we barley slept the first few days at the hospital because truth be told we weren’t sure if Brad was going to make it. The first 48 hours was touch and go because the medicine wasn’t doing a damn bit of good of getting rid of the infection. 

“Seriously? I didn’t know he was that sick. I could have flown out there to support you guys.”

“Remember this is Ryan were talking about. The man who keeps everyone at an arm length away emotionally. Brad was the only one that was able to break through the wall he put up once his wife left him and took the kids because she thought he was having an affair with me. I would have started calling that morning though if the infection wasn’t clearing up that morning. ”

“Did the doctor say he would be okay?”

“Yeah. He also said Brad was lucky that he won’t have any lasting effects from the fever. At it’s highest was 104.7 degrees. It could have been disastrous. Now Ryan is going to be over protective of Brad for awhile. So we get to deal with moody Ryan.”

“Yeah, but I’ll take a moody Ryan over him losing Brad.”

“True.”

They rode the rest of the ride in peace.


	4. Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad is home

Once Brad step in the house he felt calmer - he knew exactly where he was and knew he was safe. Then he saw Greg and wondered.

“Ryan?” Brad whispered once Greg and Colin were out of earshot

“Where did Greg come from?”

Ryan laughed, “Sweetheart, he drove us home from the airport. You acted like you never met the man before and didn’t trust him.”

“The airport When were we at the airport?” Brad questioned. Stopping to think, he didn’t remember where he was when he got into Ryan’s car but he remember getting into it so it must have been the airport. But not knowing Greg, a good friend for the last 20 years was unforgivable, or at least he thought.

“Hey, no tears,” Ryan told him picking up his chin to look Brad in the eyes. “It’s okay. We all understand that your brain is a bit slow right now. With some more rest you’ll be back up to par,” Ryan told him.

“No worries, mate,” Greg told Brad and smiled at him, which led Brad smiling back.

 

Colin and Greg started making lunch for everyone by grilling hamburgers, leaving Ryan and Brad alone in the house.

“Can we watch tv, Ryan?

“Yeah, buddy we can. After we eat we’ll go upstairs and lay….”

Brad interrupted him. “No,” he said sternly.

Ryan didn’t say anything. Brad had been feeling out of sorts since the illness had taken hold and for once he was going to make a decision. Even if it was as simple as where they were going watch tv, Brad needed to do this.

“I want to cuddle on the couch with you and watch mindless television. Can we do that? Just you and I. No Colin or Greg.”

“We can. Let’s eat first then I’ll kick them out of here for awhile.”


	5. The End Of the Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the story. Not exactly how I wanted it to end but that's the way the story flowed. It's a sad ending in a way but happy as well.

Epilogue

One thing that both Colin and Ryan learned that Brad can put up a good front and lie through his teeth about how he was feeling. Three months after Brad was released he told everyone that he was good to go on the road. They did shows twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, giving Brad time to get his sea legs back under him and not to overwhelm him. Ryan had told Colin that he was sleeping still a lot and that while he may not agree to him doing this, he had to let Brad go at some point to be on his own.

A few days into the trip and Colin knew this trip wasn’t going to go well. Brad would wake up confused and crying and it would take some time for Colin to get him calm down and back to reality. Colin knew that if he asked Brad if he wanted Ryan to be with him he begged and pleaded him not too but Brad needed him. So once they were on the road, Brad was sleeping Colin dialed Ryan to see what should be done.

“I take it it’s not going well.”

“No. He’s not himself. He’s confused when he wakes up and wants you.”

“I figured. Is he up?”

“No, that’s the other thing - he’s sleeping a lot.”

Ryan could suddenly hear Brad in the background waking up, scared. Colin put the phone on the table near Brad’s bed and comfort him. “It’s okay Brad, you’re on the tour bus with me,” Colin repeated over and over again until Brad woke up. He then helped Brad in the chair handing him his blanket and Brad just stared out the window.

Colin then realized that Ryan had overheard the entire incident. Before he spoke into the phone he step back away from where Brad couldn’t hear.

“I take that you heard all that. Ryan, that’s mild considering what has been going on. As much as I love Brad and love to tour, I just don’t think he’s really ready to do this.”

“Why don’t I met up with you guys. Let’s try that. I figured he would be like that but he was so determine to get back on the road with you that I couldn’t just say no to him. The worse that could happen is that you cancel the tour.”

So that’s what happen. When Ryan arrived on their tour bus Brad hugged him tight and cried because he had never been so relieved to see Ryan. Brad made it through the tour but only because Ryan would be standing in the wings back stage during the shows that kept him grounded. Once the tour was over Ryan had thought about taking Brad away on vacation but Brad just wanted to sleep in his own bed. So they bid Colin and the crew good-bye after the last show one Saturday afternoon and Ryan rented a car and drove the five hours home. 

It took Brad a year to finally be okay with being alone in the house during the day. He never did feel comfortable again being alone at night. Ryan surmised that something happen in his unconscious while he was in the hospital for those first few nights that change Brad and nothing would be able to reverse that so Ryan just let it go. There were many that told him Brad needed professional help but no one knew expect for him that Brad was sexually abused by a psychologist when he was a young man and never wanted to go back. Ryan rather deal with a clingy Brad then a really screwed up Brad.

As they got older, Ryan worried if something happened to him who would take care of Brad. Brad had become much more introverted and just enjoyed spending quiet evenings at home. And that was okay with Ryan but who else would have the patients with him. One evening Brad complained that he was in pain so Ryan took him to the emergency room. It was there that Ryan learned that Brad has terminal stomach cancer. He never told Brad that he had cancer, instead he had him admitted in the hospital and had hospice come in and provide pain medication to him. Within a week he was gone.

Ryan didn’t know exactly what to do with himself but he knew that if he wanted to see Brad again, he had to find something to do with his life. So as he was taking a walk he didn’t realize that a speeding car was coming through the intersection he happened to be crossing at. It hit him, killing him instantly. When he got to heaven, he searched for Brad who wait for him on the other side of the gates, gave each other a hug and a kiss and enjoyed heaven for eternity with all the chains of humanity lifted off of them.


End file.
